Cessna T337C accident near Garden City, Kansas, March 21, 1987
On March 21, 1987 at about 8:45 pm local time, a Cessna T337C, registered N2600S, was substantially damaged in an accident near Garden City, Kansas (Garden City Muni airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 21, 1987 · about 8:45 pm local time
- Place
- Garden City, Kansas · Garden City Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T337C · all T337Cs on the register
- Registration
- N2600S · registry record · serial 3370900
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
BOTH OF THE ACFT ENGS HAD JUST BEEN OVERHAULED. THE PLT DECIDED TO MAKE A MAINT TEST FLT & ELECTED TO LEAVE THE LNDG GEAR IN THE DOWN & LOCKED PSN. TAKEOFF & INITIAL CLIMB WERE NORMAL UNTIL ABOUT 300 TO 400 FT AGL. AT THAT TIME THE REAR ENG LOST POWER. THE PLT WAS ABLE TO RESTART IT FOR ABOUT 30 SEC, THEN IT LOST POWER AGAIN. HE FEATHERED THE REAR PROP, BUT WAS UNABLE TO MAINT ALT & SPEED (WITH THE GEAR EXTDD). TO AVOID A RIVER & ROUGH TERRAIN, HE HAD ALTERED HIS HEADING TO THE LEFT, THEN SAW TRANSMISSION LINES AHEAD. REALIZING THE ACFT WOULD NOT CLEAR THE LINES, HE TURNED FURTHER LEFT TOWARD THE ARPT. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT CRASHED IN AN OPEN FIELD ON ARPT PROPERTY & WAS DAMAGED. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND. THE FLAPS WERE FOUND IN THE RETRACTED POSITION.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,238 hours in all; 271 in this make and model; 23 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days; 1,747 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 1, 1986
- Maximum gross weight: 4,500 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-360-A/B (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Chaparral Aviation, INC
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 5,999 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:09 pm from GCK
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N2600S the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.